Pope Francis blames ‘fake news’ for Trump assassination attempt in annual papal address

Pope Francis declared in a papal address that "fake news" has been a major cause of societal unrest that has led to the assassination attempts on President-elect Trump.

"This phenomenon generates false images of reality, a climate of suspicion that foments hate, undermines people’s sense of security, and compromises civil coexistence and the stability of entire nations. Tragic examples of this are the attacks on the chairman of the government of the Slovak Republic and the president-elect of the United States of America," he said. Gabriel Hays is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. 

Trump narrowly avoided being killed at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania last July, when would-be assassin Thomas Crooks fired at him with an AR-15 rifle.  Crooks’ round missed Trump’s skull by less than an inch, though it hit him in the ear. Other rounds entered the crowd behind the then-GOP candidate, wounding two and killing rallygoer Corey Comperatore.